Fashion Editorial - "Strut, Pout..."
I have recently been asked by several models about editorial modeling,
what is it, what is the value of it,
and what are "editorial agencies"? In the past I have addressed the
simple definitions (simple?) of editorial
and commercial modeling (editorial is story illustration and commercial
involves selling the product).
Editorial agencies I have defined as agencies whose goal it is to promote
a select group of models through
editorial assignments, as opposed to commercial agencies whose goal
it is to provide a specific type of
model to a client to meet the client's particular needs at the time.
Now in the end, the goal of any agency is
to provide models to advertisers because these are the people who pay
models, and so in the end, all
agencies are commercial agencies. It is the value added by specific
models to advertisers, and how the
models are promoted, which separates the two types of agencies.
I have discussed the value of editorial modeling in terms of self promotion
and name identification, which
would raise the commercial value of the model to advertising clients.
In short, a model might be a little big
in the hip, have an odd growth on her face, and not be blonde, but
if she has been on countless Vogue
covers, she is worth a fortune to Revlon, and paid accordingly (for
the Revlon ads, not the Vogue covers).
Of course I am not referring to anyone specifically, this is just a
general example, and not to be confused
with real life.
However, in reviewing my comments on this area, I realized I had left
out one very important (and bizarre)
value attached to editorial modeling (and photography). This business,
particularly at the upper levels, is
one of processionary caterpillars. For those who are unfamiliar with
the term, processionary caterpillars
are caterpillars who travel through the jungle with the head of one
pressed firmly against the butt of the
caterpillar in front of it. They travel along like this until a food
source is found. (It is said that if you gather a
string of these caterpillars and arrange them so they form a circle,
they will march around happily until they
starve to death!) The comparison to advertising is that if someone
else is doing it, or using someone, then
by God, we should be doing it too! The old saw in business is that
no middle manager ever lost his job
recommending AT&T or IBM.
How does this apply to modeling or photography? Well, this is why editorial
assignments are held in such
high esteem. Theoretically, a major magazine (and for fun, let's just
say Sports Illustrated) can chose any
model they want to appear in a special issue (and again, since I am
just goofing around, let's say the
swimsuit issue). And that magazine can pick any model they want to
appear on the cover. Virtually any
model in the business likes to travel, go to exotic locations, get
fawned over, pampered, and have all of
her expenses paid, so who wouldn't take the assignment? (Undoubtedly
many, I made this up, so what do
I know.) In addition, the magazine could probably pick any photographer
for the assignment, pay only
expenses, let them shoot some of the most delightful creatures on the
planet earth, and I doubt they would
have any problem finding takers from the most talented and successful
photographers in the world.
Now, here is the rub. Since most models want the assignment, and since
most photographers would kill to
shoot it, they get to pick the people they think are the best. And
guess what? It doesn't matter who they
pick, a ton of other people will now think these chosen ones walk on
water. And these other people will
stand in line to hire and pay the silly rascals a lot of money. A lot
lot lot of money. Why? Because they are
truly the most beautiful, the most talented? No. Who can possibly say
that any working model is not
beautiful? Or that one is more beautiful than the rest? You see, it
does not matter, Sports Illustrated said
they are, so they must be, they get to pick! A major advertiser wants
to refresh their ad campaign,
introduce a new product, who do they want..... at any price? Why the
most beautiful woman in the world,
the SI cover girl. She must be the most beautiful, SI picked her! (Okay,
last year they picked someone
else, quick, name her, can't? Right...... get me the new one.)
Now you know why any model should want to be on the Vogue cover, the
spring fashion editorial spread
in Elle, the....well you get the picture. And why photographers would
kill to shoot those same assignments.
Pay? Fogedaboutit! Who cares? They know that if they get picked by
the caterpillar in front, the others
will follow on blindly and happily. And they will pay for the privilege.
In truth, not all editorial assignment have equal value, and the best
ones go to models and photographers
who have worked their way up the editorial chain. Models don't get
a Vogue cover as their first cover.
And a model rarely gets any cover without first working her way through
the back editorial pages of the
magazines. This applies to photographers as well. Editorial is about
getting known, getting exposure. But it
is first about getting picked. The more options the one doing the picking
has, the greater the value the
commercial market places on the one's who are chosen. And that is why
the business seems to be using
the same people over and over again. These silly caterpillars just
have their heads up against someone
else's butt, and until someone breaks away, they go around, and around,
and around.
Tomorrow I will go into the differences in the way editorial and commercial
agencies work, and how a
prospective model can get started in this business.
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--
John Fisher
900 West Avenue, Suite 423
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Voice: (305) 534-9322
Fax: (305) 675-9286
http://www.johnfisher.com